(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to air mattresses, and more particularly to a multilayered air mattress having multiple chambers adapted to maximize the health and comfort for its user.
(2) Prior Art
Mattresses can be relaxing objects when a person may lie on one for a short time. However, if a person is bedridden, and relatively immobile, those mattresses can become creators of pain and infection.
Bed sores may develope on people at points of pressure between bony structures and the mattress. These bed sores are a breakdown of skin tissue due to interruption of blood flow, which are known as decubitous ulcers. These ulcers have four distinct stages: (1) reddened skin, (2) reddened skin and broken, vesiculated, or excoriated, (3) full thickness loss of skin which may include subcutaneous tissue and produces serosanguinous drainage, (4) full thickness loss of skin with invasion of deeper tissue.
Avoidance of this problem is accomplished primarily by lowering the pressure interface with respect to the patient's body. Patient comfort, mattress convenience and other factors should also be considered when designing an environment free of such problems, those other factors including minimization of moisture on the patient's skin to avoid maceration of it.
There have been a number of attempts to alleviate ulcers of the aforementioned type, with various air mattresses with varying degrees of success.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,124 to Grant shows an inflatable mattress with a layer of alternating pressurizable cells.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,285 to Stanton discloses an air support mattress having multi-membraned cells having aligned openings therethrough to provide an air stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,297 to Robbins et al shows an inflatable pillow which is controlled by a circuit to alternate pressure in alternate chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,837 to Tringali et al discloses an inflatable pad in conjunction with a foam cushion to coact as a controlled air mattress.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,009 to Schild et al discloses a dual layer mattress having apertures to direct air out onto a patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,874 to Matsumura et al shows a massage mat having chambers which are sequentially pressurized.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,706 to Takeuchi discloses an air mattress which utilizes a curvilinear layer of foam in conjunction with tube-like air chambers for patient support.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvement in pressurizable air mattresses over the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an air mattress which takes into consideration more than elimination of skin ulcer problems of a patient.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an air mattress which is economical in its manufacture and upkeep, and has features not appreciated by the art.